CAMBAY, GULF OF, a trumpet-shaped inlet on the west coast of India, narrowing northwards between Kathiawar pen insula and Gujarat. Its shape and orientation in relation to the south-west monsoon winds explain its very high tides and the velocity with which they enter. But it shallows rapidly; the silt of flood torrents entering its head contributes to progressive de terioration, and shoals and sandbanks are everywhere treacherous. Broach is one of the oldest Indian ports; Surat is particularly identified with the rise of direct European contacts with India, and Bhaunagar is a noteworthy entry for Kathiawar, but the importance of the gulf ports is now only local.